


When Galaxies Collide

by Katonyx



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Major Original Character(s), Mass Effect 1, Mild Language, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV Original Female Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 21:49:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10795440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katonyx/pseuds/Katonyx
Summary: In an ironic twist of fate, Shepard isn't the only...well, Shepard. Aurora Shepard meets Gemini Shepard on their mission to Akuze, and things only get more interesting from there. A fun play on if Shepard happened to be a femme fatale duo, saving the galaxy. What would change and what would remain the same?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Written from the POV of my OC, Aurora Shepard. Gemini belongs to a friend and this is a re-imagining of if these two characters had happened to exist in the same universe.

Among thousands of worlds and galaxies, I’ve managed to find myself in this one. At this exact pinpoint in time in the universe, I stand on a wet sidewalk in the middle of a colony whose name I can’t remember. Perhaps in the greater scheme of things, none of us will remember it. As we go about our lives, nitpicking what we deem is worthy of our attention and what can be thrown to the wayside, as if it were nothing but a piece of lint sticking to the shoulder of a jacket.

But that’s enough philosophy for at least a month. I’m Aurora Shephard, and I’m about to go on a journey of a lifetime. With my best friend. Or, well, soon to be best friend. But now I’m getting ahead of myself.

You see, I’m an N7 operative. Best of the best for human standards. Maybe the best of the best for some alien standards too, but who knows? I like to think I’ve been through a lot. I grew up by myself, roaming the streets of some city on Earth. The name doesn’t matter that much, really. What does matter is that I got my life back on track by joining the Alliance military. That’s where I met Gemini. And, well, things just get weirder from there. This is my story. Our story.


	2. Girl Meets GIrl

“Hey, you! Shepard!” I turned, looking for whoever had called my name. Wasn’t often someone sounded like they wanted to send a swift kick at my arse, but it seemed like today was one of those days.

“Yes, Sergeant?” Standing attention, I offered my superior a salute worthy of being in one of those fancy training textbooks.

“You go topside in twenty! What the hell are you doing, walking around like you’re about to go take an afternoon nap?”

“Topside? Sergeant, sir, I haven’t received any briefing or mission stats. I didn’t even know anyone was shipping out today!” 

“No excuses! You’re due at Docking Bay 6! Get your ass in gear, soldier!” Without waiting for a response, he turned heel and stalked off. Wonder who poured Quarian dextro-paste in his cornflakes.

So that’s how I found myself beelining to my locker to get my gear on. No idea where I was going or what I needed, just that I needed to get to docking bay as quick as my legs would carry me. Better safe than sorry, I equipped everything necessary for combat. Hopefully someone else was supplying rations, or else I’d be up the river without a paddle. Or...however that old Earth saying went.

Boarding the ship itself was nothing extraordinary seeing as I’d been on my fair share of missions. What alarmed me was just how many people were on board and how every single one of us was geared for combat. Didn’t expect this when I woke up this morning to head to the mess for a cup of coffee. Hooray…

But that’s when I met her. Now, don’t laugh at me for sounding all sappy, but she was gorgeous. I didn’t know back then that this was going to be the best friend I would ever have in my life, okay? So when I first saw her the only thing going through my mind was, ‘I am going to marry this woman’. She would give me so much shit for it, but you can’t reminisce without being honest! Gemini Shepard. How do I explain her? She was shorter than me, but that isn’t hard considering I might as well be a Turian masquerading as a human. That and she was probably a year or two older than me. I mean, both of us were in our prime, so it’s not like either of us were going gray or had any wrinkles. I think what got me were her eyes. Burnt caramel might sum up the color, but they were warm and loving right off the bat. Gem was...she looked kind. A little stern, maybe. The kind of gal who would laugh with you over drinks, but the second you get on a shuttle, she stands up straight and reminds you that you have a job to do. 

So that’s how I spent almost two hours, smiling like a big old dope at this woman who probably didn’t know I exist. She knew I was looking, too. She’d catch my eye, frown, and look away. Then she’d look up again to see if I was still looking. At this point there was no trying to pretend I wasn’t looking. So, every time she’d make eye contact, I’d start making a goofy face. Then that is how, for two hours, me and another Shepard made funny faces at each other across a shuttle. You see how this friendship had to happen, don’t you? You don’t make funny faces at someone for that long without becoming eternal best friends. It’s just how the universe works, kids.

Eventually our commander came in to brief us and do a quick roll call. When it came down to ‘Shepard’ me and the other woman both gave a nice loud, “Sir, yes, sir!” and then looked at each other like the other was crazy. Even the commander looked confused as all get out.

“I have one Shepard on this list. First name, Gemini.” 

And pop goes the weasel. Thank you random sergeant who ruined my coffee run and threw me on some blasted shuttle set for gods knows where. If I die, blame him on my gravestone.

“Sir, my name is Aurora Shepard. Member of the 246th militia. I was told by sergeant Humphreys that I was to be at docking bay 6 and aboard this shuttle, sir.” That was a mouthful, but hey, not my fault. Humphreys was the one who messed things up. Man I hope he got written up.

The commander just chuckled and mumbled something about extra hands, at that point. Couldn’t blame him, though. What was he going to do with me? Throw me out of an airlock? So there I was, across from a pretty girl who also happened to have the same last name as me and a commander briefing us all on our assignment.

Oh and boy was the assignment one for the books. Apparently, Akuze was one of our newer colonies to have been set up in alien space. Everything seemed to be going well until we lost contact with the pioneers stationed there. One minute, everything was fine. The next? Not a peep. No soldiers, scientists, or civilians would answer the phone. That and none of them seemed to be trying to callback. So off went the Alliance Marines to go see why our friends were letting our messages go to voicemail.

When we landed, the place was a ghost town. Certain buildings had been knocked over and the ground itself seemed to have been churned up. The most likely scenario was an earthquake or a tornado. Sadly, we had no idea if the planet adhered to earth standards when it came to natural disasters.

But I was cocky, and hadn’t been on a serious beyond the occasional drop run of supplies. So instead of paying any attention like a good soldier would, I decided to flounce my happy self up to my namesake and strike up a conversation.

“Hey, I’m Aurora. Aurora Shepard, if we’re being formal. But you already know that, don’t you? So what’s a top notch gal like you doin’ on a planet like this?” I pulled out all the stops. Charming smile? Check. Well time wink? Check. Holding my gun over my shoulder and looking totally bad ass? Double check.

Sadly, Gemini didn’t seem to be in the mood to flirt. She gave me a smirk and gently pushed me away by my shoulder and kept walking. “Same as you. Trying to figure out what happened to our people. Might want to keep your eyes open, never know what might...sneak up behind you…” She stared over my shoulder, making me jump and turn to see what she was looking at. When I did, all I saw was dirt and all I heard was her laughing as she just kept on walking.

“Hey! No fair! That’s playing dirty! Didn’t they teach you not to make any low blows when you went through bootcamp?” I inquired playfully.

Gem just laughed, “Sure they did! I don’t think that’s going to matter when I’m going up against a Krogan though. I’ll shoot wherever he’s not defending.”

“Oh really,” I held up my arms and laughed with her, “you willing to bet on that? Next fight you get in with a Korgan, I dare you to go for an omni-tool punch to the gut and see how that works out for ya!”

She gave me the side-eyed smirk that I was quickly beginning to get used to, “Deal. But only if the next time you’re up against a Turian, you see if you can get their feet out from under them.”

So we shook on it and kept talking and walking. It was easy, simple. Like I had known her longer than the few hours I’d had the pleasure of making silly faces at her and failed at flirting. Oh well, if you can’t kiss a girl, might as well become lifelong friends. Right Gemini? I know you’re going to be reading this at some point.

We decided to buddy up when it came to camping. Neither of us was keen on pairing up with any of the guys. Nothing against them, but too much testosterone in an enclosed space can be a little more than most girls are into. We hadn’t found anything interesting on our walk through the colony. Not a single soul seemed to be around and almost all of the buildings were bent out of shape. We slept with our guns under our pillows that night, and for good reason…


	3. Just Another Petty Face

This isn’t a fun memory, and if you’re looking for a happy ending, our story probably isn’t for you. Just close this book and assume that me and Gemini went on to live long and happy lives. We both married a couple of Asari, settled down, and lived out our days on some back patio with the sunset breaking through the trees. It’s a much better alternative.

That night we woke up to screams. Not the kind coming from just terrified people. They were coming from people whom we knew we were never going to see again. The kind of screams that wake you up twenty years later in a cold sweat. 

I leaned over to wake Gemini up, but she was already a step ahead of me and getting her armor on. I followed suit, gearing up as fast I could in such a cramped tent. We both grabbed our guns and looked at each other, not sure what to say, not knowing what was on the other side of the thin vinyl walls separating us from the outside chaos.

Inevitably, she spoke first. “See you on the flipside, Aurora. Try not to get too scuffed up. I really hate doing paperwork on workplace injuries.” Then she was gone. Undid the tent zip and dived head first into one of the worst fights of our lives.

It was dark and there was sand everywhere. In my lungs, my eyes, even my nose. I had to close my helmet within the first few seconds of stepping out, not having known how volatile the environment really could get. I watched Gemini run off into the smoke and said a silent prayer that I would see her after this was all over. The list of people I’ve had to seen buried wasn’t something I wanted to see grow.

I turned on my heel and turned on the lights of my helm to see what’s going on. That’s when my heart dropped into my stomach. Thresher Maws. I’d heard of them in briefings, but never seen them in person. They were towers all by themselves, lifting above the very earth itself to look down on us. You never really debate your mortality until you’re looking upon a beast who can take your life with a quick swipe. I fell to my knees and began shooting off biotics left and right. I was military trained and could shoot a man or beast as well as the rest of my squad, but I’ve always teetered between combat and medicine. Most would call it a field medic. I just call it patching people up who I like, and shooting those I don’t.

So between the bullets, biotics, and bandages I lost all sense of time. Maybe it was a few minutes, maybe it was a few hours. Our squad was nothing to these Thresher Maws. Every time a soldier took the place of a fallen one, they fell just as fast. No amount of medi-gel can mend the bones of those who had been tossed a hundred feet in the air and landed on their legs, arms, or head. It was...more chaotic than war. In a war, you know who you’re fighting. Their morals. What they’ve done and why you should be fighting them. These were just animals that were hungry and angry that we had decided to move into their territory. There was no moral standing, no incentive. Everything became so primal. You either keep going until you die or you keep going until you realize that living is the only option left.

I don’t know when it stopped or how. One minute I had a Thresher practically a foot away from me, my biotics seeming to ping off its armor like a ball against a wall. The next, I had someone's arm around my waist, pulling me backwards; back into the sand and havoc. I let myself be guided, my eyes looking down at all the men and women who I would never see smile again. Whose family would have nothing but a pair of dog tags and hazy memories to remember them. I could feel the hot burn of tears behind my eyes, knowing that I was one of the last ones.

I looked over to the person pulling me and let out a choked laugh that sounded more like a sob. Gemini Shepard, the woman who was going to punch a Krogan in the gut on a dare. Who sat making silly faces at me across the shuttle. Her face was determined and I knew this woman was going to get us out or die trying. Something about the way she looked, bloody and scratched up but with hope in her eyes...it kept me going. I righted myself and linked arms with her. We ran. We ran until our knees wobbled and our legs wanted to give out. We ran until the sand around us had settled and all we could hear were the shuttle engines landing to retrieve us.

We were both put onto med tables adjacent from each other. As I felt the soft sting of the I.V. needle, I turned to look at her. The last thing I saw before being put under was Gem, beaten and bruised as all hell, making a funny face at me, and I knew this was the woman I would be running with for the rest of my life.


	4. Into The Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a few creative liberties with how some of the events played out. I know you aren't really supposed to suspect Saren too much quite yet, and yes, we met Ashley a little late. Oopsies.

There was a lot of psychological evaluations from there. Not to mention the physical therapy the two of us had to go through. The doctors wanted to keep us together. The Lone Survivors became our coined team name. I had a few broken ribs and my leg basically had to be put back together again, humpty dumpty style. Gem was just as bad. A broken arm, fractured rib, and one of her eye sockets had shattered. Akuze was not kind to us, but at least we had made it out.

From then on, it was impossible to separate us. It wasn’t even a matter of ‘bonding over life experiences’ it was a matter of surviving. I think we became each other’s anchors Seeing so many lost and knowing that in the end, the two of us had found one another and made the journey hope (relatively) unscathed. Something like that tends to bring people together. It started slow, like easing yourself into a hot shower. Things like getting to know each other’s favorite color or what we wanted to be when we grew up, before the Alliance of course. Then you submerge yourself into the water, letting it sweep over you and bring you the comfort you needed to quell your aching muscles. We spoke of our history, our darkest fears, and what Akuze meant to us. What being in the Alliance meant to us. I hadn’t opened up to someone like this in my life at all. The stories of her family before everything went south made me yearn to make her life better. As an acquaintance, a friend, or a best friend. It didn’t matter. Seeing a woman this strong persevere? It gave me the willpower to live. And so I did. Or am?

A few years passed. We continued with our lives. Missions came and went. Nothing was ever as bad as Akuze. I think the Alliance went easy on us. PTSD is taken very seriously nowadays, and we were textbook sufferers. We learned each other’s ticks. If one of us was about to go down, the other would hold her and remind her that we were alive. We were here and we still had fight left in us.

Eventually, Gem was even moved into the 246th militia after I begged and whined about it. We were a team. I’d run in and distract things with my flashy biotics while she sniped them from a distance. We tended to be throw into a lot of recon missions. It suited us. Things flowed naturally and there wasn’t a lot for us to complain about beyond mess hall food occasionally being gross. I would have happily lived my entire life just shooting things at her side and giving lip to the sergeant as a side hobby.

But apparently when you’re last name’s Shepard, you don’t get a lot of free time. Or if you do, something really shitty has to happen to make up for all the happiness you’ve built around yourself.

And that’s how me and Gemini ended up being put up as the first two humans for consideration for spectre status. I laughed at the idea, but a quick elbow in the side from Gem put me back on track. Anderson briefed us on the ship, Nihlus standing a few feet away. Gemini was as professional as ever, asking the right questions, smiling at the right time. It was like watching something out of the movies. She knew what she was doing and she was a model soldier. All I did was stare at Nihlus the whole time. He had pretty colors for a Turian and I’m easily distracted, what can I say?

Drop came around and now we’re all caught up. Me and Gemini, standing on some rainy planet, pavement under our feet as we explore a colony that has gone off the radar and is letting all our messages fly on through. Of all the places and time in the galaxy, here we are, on our next adventure.  
“What do you make of it Gem? Spooky. Ghost down. Remind you of anything? Keep your eye on the ground, yeah?”

“This isn’t like Akuze, Aurora. Look! All of the buildings are exactly the way they should be. Nothing looks out of the ordinary. It’s...eery. Like all of the pioneers just left. No struggle, no damage.” Her voice was strained and I knew she was just as nervous.

“Yeah, well, keep your gun up. I don’t want to have another incident where the two of us have to get shuttled out of her on stretchers. You too, Jenkins, Kaidan!” I turned to the other two men who were accompanying us. 

Jenkins was a good soldier, nodding and offering a ‘Yes Ma’am’ before checking the perimeter. Kaidan gave one of his goofy ass smiles that made me and Gemini roll our eyes in synch. It was probably funny looking in retrospect, which is why Kaidan chuckled under his breath.

We all continued forwards, the rain doing nothing for our mood. Suddenly, something flew overhead and began shooting. No real warning. Jenkins ran out ahead of me, trying to get a better vantage point. There was a shot and then...nothing.

“Jenkins!” Gemini screamed. I had to grab her shoulder to hold her back. Running in after him would just be another suicide in the scheme of things. It took us a good fight before we brought down the foreign aircraft. Gem was the first to run up to the body. She let out a small sigh, but Jenkins was gone the second the phaser breached his armor.

“He was a good soldier. We’ll come back for him.” Kaidan chimed in, trying to lighten the mood. I nudged him with my shoulder as a way of saying thanks and Gemini nodded, her shoulders slumping.

“I’m just tired of losing soldiers under my command or who trusted me to keep them safe,” Gemini’s words were weighed down heavily with guilt.

“It’s not your fault, Ni. We lose people. Good people. Their sacrifice means something to us and it always will, but we can’t let ourselves feel guilty. Jenkins knew what he was signing up for. Let’s just keep going.” I tried my hardest to keep the group from falling into a slump this early into a mission. Me and Kaidan took rear, letting Gemini lead the way as she saw fit.

It wasn’t too much later that we ran into the husks. Disgusting creatures, embedded on spikes high up in the sky. When we approached, they descended, letting the humanoids find footing and come rampaging at us. It soon became apparent that these were once pioneers, twisted by the machinery into mindless...husks. Their only interest was attacking us and they were hard to kill. They didn’t seem to feel pain, but a headshot did them in as well as it did any other creature.

“Gem! I think I see someone!” I hollered, a man crawling out from behind some crates, looking shaken.

Gemini interrogated him, which led us to Nihlus’ body. Shot in the back of the head at point blank range and in cold blood. Gemini was practically shaking with anger, her finger gently touching the trigger. “Whoever killed him is going to answer to us.” Me and Kaidan simply nodded in agreement.

Long story short, we diffused a couple of bombs, shot a couple of Geth, nothing big. What they were doing there, no one knows. It didn’t matter, because as me and Gem approached the beacon, we realized what we were really here for.

Kaidan, however, was an idiot and decided to try his luck by approaching it. Me and Gem jumped in right away to push him out of the gravitational pull, but the two of us ended up sharing the brunt of a mental explosion. I thought my head was going to explode. I held onto Gemini’s hand as the onslaught of nightmares began.

It was like I was seeing another person’s life. It was all broken and pieces were missing. I felt pain and sorrow like I’ve only ever felt on Akuze, yet it was heightened by lightyears. After that came fear. Foreboding that clung to your very essence. Like you knew something was about to go terrible wrong but you didn’t know when or why. Every heightened feeling that could be negative was coursing through my body and the only thing to help me remember that I wasn’t actually dead or dying was Gemini’s hand in mine. I could hear her crying and I had no doubt I was doing the same. Then, slowly, it stopped. In a haze I saw Kaidan and an unknown woman rushing towards us. With what little energy I had left, I looked towards Gemini and she seemed to be unconscious. Twice in my life, I said a prayer that I would see her again soon and that she wouldn’t be leaving me for good. Then I let the darkness envelope me.


End file.
